Mapleview Transit Rapid Transit
Mapleview Rapid Transit (RT), officially as Mapleview Transit Rapid Linkage System (Traditional Chinese: 楓城快速連接系統), is a monorail-based rapid transit system in the City of Mapleview in Gravenhurst Region, operated by Mapleview Transit. Serving a city of a population just over 60,000, it is one of the monorail system with the smallest population base, and therefore its ridership is also one of the world's lowest. Running every 9 minutes during rush hours and every 16 minutes during off-peak hours, the system links Victoria Town MT Station (South Town Terminal) to Leaside - North Town Terminal, crossing through the city's core, Downtown Lily. There are plans to extend the system to Mapleview's suburb, Lacroix - Lansing to the north, and to add a spur line between the city's core and the proposed Mapleview University. There is only one line running at the moment, and thus most people refer to it as just the "RT Line" (Rapid Transit Line). However, according to the official documents, the existing monorail line is named "Crosstown MT Line", which is to differentiate this line from all future lines that are proposed to be built. The system is marked with the colour Cherry Red on Mapleview Transit's route maps and official publications. History In the late 1980s, the Gravenhurst Region government is implementing the Revitalizing Alphabet Belt infrastructure program. As part of the program, the City of Mapleview was planned to become the central hub of all the parishes along the Alphabet Belt, due to its strategic location and its existing population base. As such, the City of Mapleview was granted $296 million USD to improve the local transportation system in 1989. Prior to the introduction of the rapid transit system, GO Transit operates a diesel-based trains along the Mapleview Corridor railway (along the alignment of Highway 11), and with spur lines along the way to serve the different communities in the city. These train services are considered as unreliable and often contribute a lot of air and noise pollution along its service corridors. Talks were proposed to replace these diesel train spur lines in quiet communities using the funding that was provided. Originally proposed for a bus rapid transit system, the council has turned down the proposal due to the "un-modernized reputation" of such a system. The Alphabet Belt Revitalization Committee then planned for another modern solution, which was raised to be a monorail system. The routing was planned in 1991, and was approved by the council in late-1992. The routing was to cover the existing service area for the GO Transit Mapleview Corridor Line Spur 'A' (towards Yorkdale GO Station) and Spur 'B' (towards Lily GO Station). The environment assessment was passed in October 1993, which was followed by the groundbreaking ceremony on 26 November, 1993, officially marking the start of the construction. Constructions were generally completed by January 1996. After a few rounds of testing and final tweaks, the line was opened to public on May 1, 1996, servicing all 6 "MT Stations" along the route. To ease the service transition for commuters, the duplicating diesel-based GO Train services (Spurs 'A' and 'B') continued to run until May 31, 1996, when all commuters are expected to migrate to the new monorail system. In response to the new condominium developments near the intersection of Berestain Avenue and Yorkdale Road just behind the Mapleview City Hall, a new MT station was proposed in February 2011 as part of the condominium plans. The station, named "Town Hall", was later built and opened to the public on 29 December 2012, which makes it the newest MT station to open on the line. Future extensions RT Northward Extension The Town of Lacroix - Lansing to the north of the city is rapidly growing, and in response to the increase in commuters, Mapleview Transit proposed a northward extension of the line as early as 2004. The extension was approved jointly by the two municipal councils in 2011 (Lacroix - Lansing) and 2013 (Mapleview). The extension features a 5.4 km monorail, generally in a northward direction from its current terminus towards Elmvale Centre in Lacroix - Lansing. There will be one station added in the community of Elmvale Centre. Originally proposed to be named Elmvale Centre, the station was renamed to Lacroix Centre in August 2013. This new station will situate in the current public parking lot in Elmvale Centre, on Sheungton Road East. The extension is already under constructions, and the project is named "RT Northward Extension". Work is expected to be completed by May 2014, followed by an opening shortly. RT University Spur Line Under the Academia Gravenhurst Project, the regional government has identified Mapleview to be one of the desired locations across the region to host a post-secondary institute. In 2009, the site was selected to be the tract of land north of 12th Avenue West, west of W.R. Allen Road, east of Highway 22 (Louisiana Parkway), and south of 13th Avenue West. Staff at Mapleview Transit has identified that once this university opens to the public some time in 2015, there will be a large influx of commuting students between the residential core of the city and the university proper. As such, staff has advised to build a spur line of the monorail rapid transit. The proposed spur line will operate between Leaside - North Town Terminal, through the existing Town Hall MT Station, then to two extra new MT stations, one at the current Sobeys Power Centre Terminal for bus connections, and the other in the university core. The plan has been approved by city council in August 2013, however, no updates yet on the environmental assessment results as of August 2013. Constructions thus have not yet begun, though extra platforms are currently building in North Town Terminal and Town Hall MT Station to accommodate the future spur line. Mapleview Transit hopes for an opening date in September 2015, when the university is expected to be opened for its first school year. Stations Currently, Mapleview Rapid Transit travels through 7 stations along the 14-km line in about 21 minutes. Category:Mapleview Transit Category:Mapleview Rapid Transit Line